Former David's Cafe II workers protest for back pay

Approximately 30 workers seek upwards of 74k in unpaid wages

For the past few weeks, former employees of the now defunct Lincoln Road staple David's Cafe II have been protesting outside its sibling restaurant on Collins, claiming alleged wage theft. According to a source, "These workers are owed about 20 weeks of wages and many have worthless checks that were given to them by the owners in an insulting attempt to "pay" them before David's Cafe II closed in late July."

The workers--approximately 30--say they are owed about $74,000, a sum that the Department of Labor has acknowledged, but is unable to help recoup. "Limited resources prevented [the Department of Labor] from pursuing the case," says the source. "The workers have now filed wage theft claims through Miami-Dade County's wage theft program and an investigation into David's Cafe's has begun."

The workers were planning on protesting again at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

According to the source, "The owners have admitted they owe the workers and even provided workers with printouts from a payroll database showing the amounts owed to each person a couple of weeks ago when workers showed up as a group at the restaurant," but still haven't paid. "Owner Adrian Gonzalez complains about greed but it is his and his family's greed that has resulted in many workers and their families suffering."